The White House announced Saturday that President Donald Trump will visit California on Monday to receive a briefing on the devastating wildfires that are burning throughout the West Coast.
More than 20 people have died in wind-whipped blazes in California, Oregon and Washington. In Oregon alone authorities have said more than 1,500 square miles (3,880 square kilometers) have burned during recent days, nearly double the size of a typical year and an area larger than Rhode Island.
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The Democratic governors of all three states have said the destruction and speed of the blazes are unprecedented and they blamed climate change for making conditions worse.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called the blazes “climate fires” rather than wildfires.
“This is not an act of God,” Inslee said. “This has happened because we have changed the climate.”
